Survivor Samoa—He Didn't Even See It Coming

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Foa Foa has to be one of the saddest tribes in Survivor history. Loss after loss has left them with just four members and all of them were hoping for a merge. Over at Galu, Shambo and Laura bickered like pre-teens while everyone else just looked on. If you're going to fight, fight about something important, not about who took your canteen or who thinks you're not cool enough for the clique. Good grief.

Later, when both tribes arrived at the beach for the next challenge, Foa Foa got their wish: it was time to merge. They christened their new tribe Aiga and the former Foa Foa members went to work cozying up to former Galu members in an effort to get someone on their side. Bulldog Russell pulled aside Laura, showed her his idol and said that if she helped him get to the final seven he'd give it to her. But Laura wasn't buying it. She basically told him to shove it because the numbers were on her side, not his. Well, that didn't sit well with Bulldog, so he put Laura on his hit list. He tried the same "I have a secret" show-the-idol ploy with Monica and then with John. Next he moved on to Shambo, who naturally thought they were bosom buddies just because "he's a country boy and I'm a country girl." She told him about her fight with Laura and said that they should vote her out. That was fine with Russell, since Laura was number one on his hit list anyway.

Well, you know what they say about the best-laid plans. At the individual immunity challenge, a tee ball face-off that would have two winners, one man and one woman, John won and so did Laura. (Woo hoo!) Well there goes that plan. Back at camp people weren't sure who to vote out now. Amid all the scrambling and whispers, word got out that Russell had an idol, which made him a prime target. But there was another plan afoot, hatched by John, to vote off Monica and flush out Bulldog's idol. John told Erik, and Erik promptly spread the word to Dave (who thought it was nuts not to get rid of someone from Foa Foa), John, Jaison, Natalie and Mick. But Jaison had other ideas. He told Natalie and Mick that they should blindside Erik. Word quietly spread about giving Erik (who has the other hidden idol) the boot.

At tribal council, Erik put both feet in his mouth, yammering on about how the Foa Foa folks didn't have anything to offer Galu members. He basically called them a bunch of losers to their faces. Both Russell and Jaison took exception to Erik's arrogant rant, but Erik maintained his I'm-better-than-you stance. That's when I knew his fate was sealed. As Jeff was about to read the votes, Russell stood up and played his idol. (Ha, ha! Turns out he didn't even get one vote.) With that out of the way, Jeff proceeded to reveal the votes and Erik's face went from smug as Jeff read Jaison's name twice, to surprised, then confused, then angry, as Erik began to hear his own name read over and over again. Gotcha! The tribe has voted, Erik, and you're out. And you never even got to use your idol. How sad. But you will be the first member of the jury. —Angela Ebron